Out of sheer boredom at work, I prepared a statistical comparison of the first three seasons of all the running backs drafted in the first two rounds of the 2003-2007 drafts. I included a player's season regardless of how much or little he played (see McGahee in his rookie year). TDs include rushing, receiving and return TDs. The number next to the player's name is their draft selection number.

One thing that was noteworthy is that with the exception of Shelton, Perry and Arrington, Reggie has rushed for the fewest yards in his first 3 seasons of any RB drafted in the first two rounds.

I think these numbers represent why I cannot understand the complete nuthuggery some people have for Reggie. He is a good, but not top-tier, back. He has not justified his draft position and while not a bust is certainly needs to step it up to avoid that label. In addition, he was drafted at a way higher slot than the majority of the backs listed, many of whom have had superior careers to this point. I sincerely hope that Reggie dominates this year as I would enjoy nothing more than a pro bowl for him and a super bowl for the Saints.

2003
Willis McGahee (#23) 2375 yards rushing, 347 yards receiving (2722 YFS), 18 TDs, 5 Fumbles (Recorded no stats in first season. Stats are from 2nd and 3rd season)
Larry Johnson (#27) 2416 yards rushing, 623 yards receiving (3039 YFS), 33 TDs, 5 Fumbles

2004
Steven Jackson (#24) 3247 rushing yards, 1315 receiving yards (4562 YFS), 27 TDs, 8 Fumbles
Chris Perry (#26) 337 rushing yards, 403 receiving yards (740 YFS), 2 TDs, 4 Fumbles
Kevin Jones (#30) 2486 rushing yards, 809 receiving yards (3295 YFS), 19 TDs, 9 Fumbles
Tatum Bell (#41) 2342 rushing yards, 299 receiving yards (2641 YFS), 13 TDs, 9 Fumbles
Julius Jones (#43) 2896 rushing yards, 469 receiving yards (3365 YFS), 16 TDs, 8 Fumbles

2005
Ronnie Brown (#2) 2517 rushing yards, 897 receiving yards (3414 YFS), 15 TDs, 8 Fumbles
Cedric Benson (#4) 1593 rushing yards, 180 receiving yards (1773 YFS), 10 TDs, 4 Fumbles
Cadillac Williams (#5) 2184 rushing yards, 294 receiving yards (2478 YFS), 10 TDs, 7 Fumbles
JJ Arrington (#44) 467 rushing yards, 438 receiving yards (905 YFS), 3 TDs, 2 Fumbles
Eric Shelton (#54) 23 rushing yards

2006
Reggie Bush (#2) 1550 Rushing Yards, 1599 Receiving Yards (3149 YFS), 24 TDs, 13 Fumbles
Laurence Maroney (#21) 1673 Rushing Yards, 310 Receiving Yards (1983 YFS), 13 TDs, 1 Fumble
DeAngelo Williams (#27) 2733 Rushing Yards, 609 Receiving Yards (3342 YFS), 27 TDs, 2 Fumbles
Joespeh Addai (#30) 2697 Rushing Yards, 895 Receiving Yards (3592 YFS), 30 TDs, 3 Fumbles
LenDale White (#45) 2127 Rushing Yards, 190 Receiving Yards (2317 YFS), 22 TDs, 6 Fumbles
Maurice Jones-Drew (#60) 2533 Rushing Yards, 1408 Receiving Yards (3941 YFS), 40 TDs, 5 Fumbles

2007 (through 2 seasons)
Adrian Peterson (#7) 3101 rushing yards, 393 receiving yards (3494 YFS), 23 TDs, 13 Fumbles
Marshawn Lynch (#12) 2151 rushing yards, 484 receiving yards (2635 YFS), 16 TDs, 4 Fumbles

Reggie Ranks:
Rushing Yards: 17th out of 20
Receiving Yards: 1st out of 20
YFS: 10th out of 20 (Lynch is counted as having more YFS as he will by the end of his third season)
TDs: 7th out of 20 (Peterson was counted as he will have more than one TD this year)
Fumbles: Tied for 19th out of 20 (He and Peterson led the pack with the most fumbles)

ETA: Because I can not abide any spelling errors.

This post was edited on 9/10/09 at 10:52 pm